A suicide attacker using a bomb-laden lorry has killed 14 people at an Iraqi army checkpoint in the city of Tal Afar, a medical source told the BBC. Four soldiers and 10 civilians died in the blast in the northern city which US President George W Bush held up as a model in a speech in March. The renewed violence comes as it appears the US may be considering a major change in policy on Iraq. Reports of a change came after a visit to Iraq by a senior Republican senator. Tal Afar, to the west of Mosul, was supposed to be a showcase for American-led efforts to pacify Iraq, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Baghdad. Earlier this year, Mr Bush spoke at length about the city which he said had been effectively liberated from al-Qaeda control. Also in the north, the important oil city of Kirkuk has been placed under total curfew as thousands of members of the Iraqi security forces backed by US-led coalition troops comb it for insurgents. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

South Korean troops have fired warning shots at soldiers from the North amid rising tension over North Korean plans to test a nuclear weapon. Early reports suggest that about 40 shots were fired when soldiers crossed into the demilitarised zone. Meanwhile, South Korea has welcomed a statement by the United Nations Security Council urging North Korea to abandon plans to test a nuclear weapon. Seoul joined in calling on the North to return to six-party talks. Some observers have warned that a nuclear test could come as early as this weekend. After intruding some 30 metres (yards), the Northern troops returned to their side of the military demarcation line, it added. One Southern military source, speaking anonymously to The Associated Press, said it was unclear whether the intrusion was "intentional or whether it was to catch fish". ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5415304.stm

A Russian journalist known for her critical coverage of the war in Chechnya was shot to death Saturday in Moscow, police said.Anna Politkovskaya's body was found in an elevator in an apartment building, a duty officer at a central Moscow police station told The Associated Press. A pistol and four bullets were found in the elevator, the Interfax news agency reported, citing police officials.Politkovskaya was respected for her critical, in-depth coverage of the Russian government campaign in Chechnya....http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/07/russia.murder.ap/index.html?section=cnn_world

Madagascar closed an airport in the eastern town of Toamasina on Saturday to stop an exiled opposition leader from returning home to beat a deadline to register for a presidential election. Former deputy prime minister Pierrot Rajaonarivelo, who is preparing to run in the December election, had been expected to land at the airport on Saturday despite threats that he would be arrested. "The airport is closed until the 7th of January 2007. It is (President Marc) Ravalomanana who gave the orders," said Adolphe Ramasy, a senator in the region, as a crowd of supporters who had gathered to wait for him dispersed. Rajaonarivelo, who must register as a candidate by October 14, said from the neighboring Indian Ocean island of Reunion that he would not relent and urged a general strike to protest against the country's lack of liberty. Here is an idea, why don’t we fool all our politicians and Bureaucrats into taking a vacation out of the country, and then refuse to let them back in. A one way ticket to Afghanistan or Iraq would be nice...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2539637

She stood at the altar in a white gown and veil, but she was there for no man. Lori Rose Cannizzaro was dedicating her virginity to Jesus. Saturday's rare Catholic ceremony, one her own pastor didn't know existed, turned the 42-year-old into a "consecrated virgin." Fewer than 200 women in the United States and 2,000 worldwide have declared their perpetual virginity, according to U.S. Association of Consecrated Virgins."There are people who think I'm nuts," Cannizzaro said.The ceremony was a revival of one of the church's oldest rituals. The rite is available only to virgins, who agree to abstain from sex so they can belong to Jesus Christ alone. Each woman wears a band on her left ring finger as a symbol, much like a wedding band. Cannizzaro, who is not a nun, will continue to live on her own and work as a cook at Christ the King Seminary in a Buffalo suburb. She said she has plenty of support from family and friends. I was going to comment on this, but I will pass this time...http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2006-10-07-virginity_x.htm?csp=34

A suicide bomber rammed a police checkpoint in northern Iraq with an explosives-laden vehicle Saturday, killing 14 people, including some who died when their homes collapsed in the blast. The suicide bombing in Tal Afar a city cited by President Bush earlier this year as an example of improving security in Iraq was the deadliest attack on a day when more than two dozen people died in violence around the country. Four policemen and 10 civilians were killed when the vehicle detonated after speeding into the checkpoint, police Brig. Sabah al-Maamari said. Some of the victims died when parts of nearby homes collapsed from the force of the blast in the city about 30 miles from the Syrian border. Separately, more victims of Iraq's Shiite-Sunni violence were found, with seven bullet-riddled bodies in Baghdad, where U.S. and Iraqi troops have been trying for more than a month to put down sectarian killings in intensified neighborhood-by-neighborhood sweeps. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2539659